Southern California -- this just in

Tom Hanks among alleged fraud victims of indicted insurance broker

November 7, 2012 | 2:16
pm

Actor Tom Hanks is among four victims of a Thousand Oaks insurance agent who was arrested Wednesday morning after a federal grand jury indicted him for mail fraud, alleging he overbilled clients more than $800,000.

Jerry B. Goldman was taken into custody at his home on federal mail-fraud charges after an FBI investigation led to the grand jury indictment. Along with Hanks, Goldman's four victims include musician Andy Summers, a member of the band the Police, federal officials said.

The 59-year-old Goldman was arrested without incident and is expected to arraigned on a 10-count indictment Wednesday afternoon in United States District Court in Los Angeles.
The indictment alleges Goldman used his Newbury Park insurance agency to obtain various insurance products for clients, some of whom were overbilled by as much as 600%.

According to the indictment, Goldman negotiated premiums for insurance coverage for a variety of properties and other insurables on behalf of his clients, and he was paid commissions by the insurance provider on each policy.

Goldman allegedly created fraudulent invoices on his company’s letterhead that inflated the premiums due. From 1998 through August 2011, Goldman received overpayments of more than $800,000, the indictment alleges.

"In order to lull his clients into a false sense
of security and to prevent clients from complaining to federal
or state authorities or bringing a lawsuit against him, when
clients asked him for copies of their insurance policies,
defendant Goldman sent copies of the insurance policies to the
clients and redacted the true premium from the policy
documentation to prevent his clients from discovering that they
had been overcharged," the indictment states.

The grand jury document does not break down the precise loss for each individual.

According to the indictment, Goldman handled checks involving Hanks and Summers and two other individuals through the mail between May 2008 and 2011.
Each of the 10 counts of mail fraud alleged in the indictment carries a statutory maximum penalty of 20 years in federal prison.